A New Economic Framework
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant addressed the 11th BRICS+ Legal Forum on Saturday with a call for what he termed 'Nyaya-nomics'—the economics of justice. As reported by Times Now, he argued that the enormous growth expected of BRICS+ nations "cannot solely arrive by the luck of geography or the accident of resources." Instead, he championed institutions as the decisive factor, insisting that they are not merely scaffolding for growth but its very architecture. As he put it, institutions are not something erected around growth once it has begun; they are its foundational design.
The Times of India framed his address as an advocacy for institutional strength, highlighting his statement that institutions are central to the scale of progress in India and the broader BRICS+ community. The CJI's point was that consistent adjudication and trust in the judicial process reduce transaction costs, level the playing field for market forces, and thereby open the door to growth.
Nyaya-nomics: The Economics of Justice
CJI Kant coined 'Nyaya-nomics' as the economics of justice, defining it as the mechanism by which consistent adjudication and trust in the process lower the cost of each transaction. This reduction in costs levels the playing field for market forces, enabling growth, according to both Times Now and The Times of India. While the concept resonated across both reports, The Times of India added a context: the rule of law combined with favourable economic conditions engenders this economic logic.
Drawing on a concrete example, The Times of India reported that CJI Kant cited the Supreme Court's upholding of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and its assertion of the primacy of the commercial wisdom of a Committee of Creditors. This, he said, underscored his proposition that 'capital recycled quickly is capital that returns', whereas capital trapped in open-ended litigation rarely does. India's own journey was invoked as evidence, as he pointed to the country's upward movement in the World Bank's ease of doing business rankings, from the bottom quarter into the top hundred.
Nyaya Setu: A Bridge of Justice
The CJI unveiled a concrete proposal for the BRICS+ bloc: 'Nyaya Setu'—a Bridge of Justice. This initiative, as reported by The Times of India, involves a seamless exchange of judgments among the highest courts of member countries, enabling judges to share perspectives and learn best practices. The proposal was presented as a twin-track initiative: a BRICS+ judicial fellowship for early career judges to participate in exchange programs, and a shared jurisprudence repository that leverages India's investments in digitized case law. The aim is that a judgment rendered in New Delhi, Brasilia, or for capacity purposes—as The Times of India noted—could soon inform benches elsewhere facing similar legal questions.
CJI articulated a vision where the bridge connects eleven legal traditions through a mutually agreed commitment to cultivate trust deliberately rather than await it passively. Times Now framed this move in a similar vein, quoting the CJI as saying that institutions should be bridges of trust, not fortresses of formality.
Institutions as Architecture, Not Scaffolding
's reflections on institutions treat this missing segment as fortifying of the earlier growth in architecture. A recurring theme in both reports is the view of institutions as the bedrock of sustained growth. Times Now highlighted the CJI observation that no BRICS+ economy, including India's, has achieved growth solely through its resources. Development, he asserted, has been tied to the willingness of these countries to enforce their commitments.
His imagery was stark: he suggested that without this institutional integrity, 'what looks like a rising economy is a stack of good fortune waiting for its first storm.' This architectural metaphor underscores the idea that the judicial system is not just a feature of a thriving economy but also fundamentally shapes its economic performance.
A Vision for Trust and Capital
The proceedings culminated with a description of a courtroom that keeps its word. A courtroom's trustworthiness, the CJI stated, signals to the world that it is a country willing to be trusted with capital. Both reports converged on this central message: that the legal process, through its own reliability, can pave the way for economic development.
While the event was hosted by the Bar Association of India his remarks at Supreme Court and the country's commitment to this approach were highlighted, the full significance of 'Nyaya-nomics' and 'Nyaya Setu' may involve as part of the future direction of governance and trade among the BRICS+ nations themselves.